Psalm 98 is utterly opposed to this idea of a fragmented world where the claims of God have no bearing on the rest of our lives.
It begins and ends with the same truth: the earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it. His work causes us to sing, to shout, to reflect on his faithfulness and to give him all kudos for the great things He’s done.
A few of us were talking this morning about the ongoing process of sanctification and regeneration.
One of the truths we talked about is that Jesus births His Spirit in us as we declare Him Lord over our lives. He declares us righteous and holy because of His righteousness and holiness. He took the fall for us, substituted himself in the place of our sins and atoned for all that we couldn’t and, the great gift of grace He deposits into us, is His righteousness and holiness.
The thing is though, there’s a complete work of the Spirit in us, yet a lifetime of regeneration to bring our heart, soul, mind and strength into the submission of that Spirit.
Is this slow work? Yes. Is this hard work? Sometimes. Is it fruitless work? Nope, not all. Our ongoing sanctification is all gift. The Spirit helps us in our weakness. And the Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. So, the ongoing process of sanctification integrates our body, soul and mind with what has already taken place (through God’s good pleasure) in our spirit. The journey of sanctification (or cleansing) is about making us whole – making us integrated.
Which brings us back to Psalm 98. The world the psalmist sees enjoys this integration: the seas resound, the rivers clap their hands (that’s a metaphor folks!) and the shofar gets a good ol’ blow…in fact all who live on the earth and the earth itself burst forth with enthusiastic song. Why? Because this is an integrated response to the glory of God and the marvellous things he has done. It’s an appropriate response to the one who has worked out a way of salvation for us.
Jesus is our way of salvation. God’s plan of redemption for us all is His Son, Jesus Christ…as we were saying on Sunday, Lord and Messiah.
Sing to him a new song. Allow the eternal truth of His salvation hope in you to create newness in your body, mind and soul as your spirit testifies to the marvellous things He has done!
– Simon Elliott